Finalist Reviews

Are you bird-curious but feel intimidated by thick field guides and other ornithological tomes? Never fear, Birding for Boomv, by award-winning author Sneed B. Collard III, is just the book for you. It is a delightful, accessible, and wonderfully instructive guide for novice birders as well as a finalist for the High Plains International Book Award for Nonfiction. Collard packs this little book with loads of useful information, explaining how to get started, what gear and tools you will need, and where you can go for a great experience. Good news for homebodies—you don’t even need to leave your own backyards if you don’t want to!

Keeping it lighthearted, Collard sweetens every page with his signature sense of humor. He also takes special care to show how birding can be accessible for those dealing with physical limitations. Hearing loss, eyesight issues, or just a “broken-down boomer bod” needn’t discourage potential enthusiasts. He wants his readers to know that birding can be a joyful activity for people of any age.

Although this book is ideal for the beginning birder, Collard wisely suspects that once you’re hooked, you’ll want to go to the next level, so he includes a section on building an “Advanced Birding Arsenal.” Here you’ll learn more about pricey spotting scopes, sophisticated ornithological Websites, and even the allure of bird photography. Happily, this book is not only informative but also eye-catching. Tanner Barkin’s whimsical illustrations bring delight to every page. Birding for Boomers is a handy, exuberant, good-humored introduction to the wonderful world of bird watching.

A finalist in the Fiction category of the High Plains International Book Awards, Joe Wilkins’ second novel The Entire Sky offers its readers a rich, unsettling narrative stretching from an underpass in Seattle to the plains of Montana. Rejected by his mother in the city, then bullied and beaten by his uncle in logging country, Justin finds himself homeless at sixteen, on the road with his guitar and little else—certainly without much sense of direction. His journey east ends at a sheep ranch in Delphia, Montana, where the aging owner, Rene Bouchard, has recently been widowed.

Justin and the lonely grieving Rene develop a bond that seems more familial than the relationships Rene had with his wife and grown children. In a pleasant irony, the homeless boy inspires a fresh bond between Rene and his one adult daughter Lianne. Growing more sensitive like a father, Rene teaches Justin when and how to help a sheep give birth to three lambs, including a runt. But nothing new is as good as it seems. The uninitiated Justin later soberingly learns that all three of the lambs, of course, are destined for the slaughter. So, too, an image of an unmaternal world revisits Justin in an encounter with a sheep who will not suckle her newborn.

As a “history” of sorts, the narrative alternates between the dominant present (“APRIL 1994”) and various scenes of the past (“BEFORE”), leaving the reader a great deal of past and present to piece together. The alternating time frames reinforce the novel’s abiding premise of a past still present and dynamic, for better and for worse. To some extent, the narrative’s temporal shifts dissolve the boundary between memory and experience while retaining the unpleasant suggestion that memory looms as the experience we cannot resolve.Although perhaps too wary of optimism for some readers, this novel will appeal to many for its principal characters in the process of redefining themselves, and for its quiet, “undisclosed” conclusion at which the reader is left to conjecture on the author’s “ellipsis” . . .

Not the Killing Kind by Maria Kelson is a phenomenal story about a single mother pulling out all the stops to clear her adopted son's name after he is accused of murder. Boots Marez runs a school that helps undocumented migrants and their families in Northern California. Her son is a high school senior and gets mixed up with some dangerous people. One of his closest friends is killed, and he gets arrested for the crime. Boots then goes on a mission to locate the true killer to clear her son. Along the way she encounters many dark secrets and harrowing pasts in the town whose citizens she has dedicated herself to helping for so many years.

Kelson’s writing gives us well-thought-out plotting and metaphors we didn’t know we needed. Her exploration of Boots’s emotional range and depth is exquisite. Pushing the boundaries of race, culture, and social status, the author has provided us with an insight into the lives of single mothers of different backgrounds and the struggles they face. Kelson adds another layer by including the roller coaster that adoption can be.

Kelson’s description is evocative, linking character and setting, as when she describes Humboldt County as "a great place to lie. The geography of the place supports it, a land full of trickery." Boots then reveals that even after two decades of residence, she only fits in after she makes false statements to gain the information she needs for her mission.
For a debut thriller, Not the Killing Kind sets the bar very high. I look forward to reading what Maria Kelson offers next.

The Boy Who Promised Me Horses, a finalist in the Memoir/Creative Nonfiction category, is a warm but sad account of author David Charpentier’s friendship with 9-year-old Maurice Prairie Chief in Ashland, Montana. It is perhaps as much of a story of Dave’s personal experiences as a young high school teacher at St. Labre’s Indian Catholic School as a sweet remembrance of Mo’s brief life. Dave was forever impacted by his unexpected closeness to this charming Northern Cheyenne boy who offered him open acceptance and introduced him to his tribe, his family and his amazing physical surroundings.

Mo literally bounced into Dave’s life as he moved into The Village at St. Labre’s to begin his commitment (perhaps one year?) to teach English on the reservation. A recent Minnesota graduate from St. John’s University he was unaware of the draw he would have to this perceived desolate piece of Eastern Montana.Mo and his cousin Junior dropped by on bicycle three days after Dave arrived in Montana. They offered help in his moving in and within days were persuading Dave to fish and explore with them. “Okay. Teacher Dave from Minnesota, what do you want me to carry?” “Hey teacher Dave…wanna try fishing?” “Hey Dave! We should check out Fisher’s Butte sometime.”A close friendship developed between Dave and Maurice despite their difference in age and backgrounds. Fishing, biking, hiking and street Wiffleball games joined the two. Mo’s grandmother was the one stable adult in his life but she was also the main caregiver to his siblings and cousins (cuss-ins) and accomplished all of this from a chair at the kitchen table.

Dave did not use his position at the Catholic school to attempt to “convert” his students but asked them to be respectful of beliefs of the white man at mandatory Mass as he was of theirs during his engagement in powwows and sweats. Dave’s one year in Ashland turned into four and he has never lost his close connection with those he met there. He continues to advocate for many Indian kids who to enhance their access to premium education and other opportunities.

Dave’s story does not end with Maurice Prairie Chief’s tragic death at the age of 17 as he and a friend were trying to outrun a train at midnight. Mo’s story is the everyday story of the many challenges families on the reservations face…stories of love, caring, loss and grief. David (Sharp) Charpentier continues his relationship with the Cheyenne community he so amazingly embraced many years ago. He is currently the director of St. Labre Indian School’s Alumni Support Program and with this memoir continues to broaden the understanding of the joys and struggles of those living in our nation’s reservation communities like Ashland, Montana.This is at once a delightful read about unlikely friendship and caring as well as a sad commentary on issues many Montanans still do not acknowledge. In this book we experience first-hand the realities that poverty and prejudice have created for all of us.

While not usually a mystery lover, I was so excited to get my hands on The Case of the Pilfered Pin by Misipawistik Cree First Nations author Michael Hutchinson, a finalist in this year’s Indigenous Writer category. This fifth addition to the Might Muskrat Mysteries series works well as both a sequel and a stand-alone story. The book follows the Mighty Muskrats (Sam, Otter, Atim, and Chickadee) as they track down a missing survey pin that proves where the (fictional) Windy Lake First Nation’s reserve land ends.

This book is so cute. I can absolutely imagine my nieces and nephews trying to solve mysteries just like the Muskrats. The mystery flows so well that I could not put the book down. It was gone in one sitting. The characters and environment are so well-written that I had no trouble immersing myself in the Windy Lake reserve. There is also a good blend of history that accompanies the mystery, which is unsurprising, given that part of Hutchinson’s intention in writing the series is to educate young people, especially in Canada. It is like the Muskrats are not just finding clues to solve the case but also finding pieces of their own First Nations history. And I cannot stress enough how cute it is! I am buying the rest of the series for my nieces and nephews so they can feel like Mighty Muskrats too!

Tanning Moosehides: The Northern Saskatchewan Trapline Way, An Easy Step-by-Step Guide by Tommy Bird, Lawrence Adam, and Lena Adam (with Miriam Korner) is a finalist in the High Plains International Book Awards Indigenous Writer category.

The title says it all. One could actually do the task with this book in hand. Tanning was a critical skill passed down from generation to generation from a time when hide formed clothing, shelter, harnesses, snowshoe straps, and other items of survival. The authors of this book are carrying the skill forward and teaching others. Hides are still used to make traditional dress and moccasins. The arduous process requires a combination of traditional tools such as scrapers made from the back leg of a deer or bear. I did notice a piece of steel was used and modern tools were listed as an alternative. Small nod to this century.

The photographs show each part as one proceeds through building the frame to stretch the hide, removing the hair, scraping the flesh, making brain soup as a tanning agent, and smoking it. Along the way there is a lot of soaking and stretching. After each step, the book suggests the “tanner” keep notes of what to or not to do and asks that the knowledge be passed on. The book is easy to follow in part because it is devoid of sentiment, quips, and wisdom from the native people doing the work. But that in my mind also removes the essence of the process. While Korner has collaborated with elders and is attempting to learn traditional ways since migrating from Germany, the spirit of Bird, Adam, and Adam seems absent in the writing. I would have enjoyed - even expected - some stories from the People to add richness to the traditional heritage of tanning. However, it is truly a “Step-by-Step" guide, and from that point of view it does the job.